


First Meetings

by Leni



Series: First Meetings [1]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Non-Magical, Background Rumbelle, Background Swanfire, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-09
Updated: 2017-02-09
Packaged: 2018-09-23 01:49:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9635546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leni/pseuds/Leni
Summary: Inmates of low-security prison should be supervised at all times, but a timely use of a hundred-dollar bill ensures that the new mother is alone in her room when Gold slips in.





	

Inmates of low-security prison should be supervised at all times, but a timely use of a hundred-dollar bill ensures that the new mother is alone in her room when Gold slips in. The hospital room isn't particularly large, but he was assured it was the most comfortable in the maternity ward.

As first meetings go, this isn't the norm to get to know his son's girlfriend.

However, after five years without solid word on Bae, it has been practically a miracle to find out about Emma Swan and her situation with enough time to let her know that the child she was carrying had more of a family than a teen mother with a record.

Gold would have happily taken Bae's child off her hands if that had been this girl's choice, but he doesn't regret that he's getting the whole package instead. The girl has a story of petty thieving before she was caught with those stolen watches - but since it is a fact that his son was the original thief, Gold knows he doesn't have enough room to judge.

In the worst case scenario, if she really is a lost cause, at least she might still help him get in touch with his son in the near future.

"Hello," he says softly, unable to stop a smile from tugging at his lips at the sight before him.

The girl - a blonde - lifts her head and turns reluctantly from the baby at her breast toward him. Her eyes narrow, probably because he's the first person in a while who isn't wearing either an uniform or scrubs. "You're Neal's dad," she says after a beat, then shakes her head at herself. "I mean Baelfire." A look of disbelief. "Really. Baelfire?"

Gold shrugs. "His mother's choice."

"No wonder he changed it," she tells him, amused.

Her smile makes her look both too young to be nursing a baby boy and, contrasted with the wariness in her eyes, too exhausted for her seventeen years of age.

"I wanted to make sure you two were doing all right," he tells her, approaching the bed with slow steps but making no attempt to disguise the fact that he's trying to steal a peek of his grandson. 

He never ceases to be amazed at how tiny and rosy newborns are.

Baelfire, arrived too early, had been even smaller; Gold can still remember sitting down with his firstborn, harried from a line of flights and cab rides and still almost three days too late, and counting his boy's fingers and toes, listening to his little lungs work. Gideon, on the other hand, had single-mindedly refused to leave his mother's arms for more than a few seconds, and all Gold remembered from those first days was dealing with a fussy, wailing baby while Belle reassured him that no, of course their son didn't hate him, and tried not to laugh at his distress.

It had helped that Gideon was just as reluctant to allow doctors or nurses to handle him, and that time had proved his wife right. Now, faced with another little boy, he wonders whether Baelfire's son will take after his father, or will he rather be a miniature hellion like his two-year-old uncle.

He has barely caught sight of a fuzz of dark hair before he registers that the girl is shifting uncomfortably, one-handedly fiddling with the open ends of her hospital gown. "Right," he says, flushing, and snaps his gaze to the wall at his right. "Sorry."

He should have brought Belle along, he thinks for the thousandth time since he started this drive.

But Belle had worried that they would overwhelm Baelfire's ex girlfriend, and they had gone over their options over and over until Gideon had gotten a fever two nights ago and any thought that he could be left with a babysitter for the day was abandoned. In the end Gold had traveled on his own, and he and his inability for friendly conversation would have to make the best of it. "He looks healthy," he says, hoping to distract the two of them from the awkward moment.

"He is." There's a soft grunt. A baby's protest at being shifted so his mother can pull a cloth for some privacy. "You can look now," the girl tells him. "Sorry. I'm not used to--- I have no idea what I'm doing, really."

Gold glances at her, weighing sincerity versus some need to play the victim.

He finds her staring back, judging him too.

A smart girl, then. That will make things easier in the future. "it's okay. I've been there too," he reassures her. 

She looks uncertain. 

"It'll get easier," he promises, "but in the meanwhile you will tell me if there's anything you need. I don't want you to worry at all."

They both pretend his words don't bring tears of relief to her eyes.

"Okay," she says. Then takes a deep breath. "Do you want to---" Her eyes flicker to his cane. "I mean. He's finished with lunch, so if you want to hold him... You can bring a chair close. Or not," she says when he hesitates. "It's okay either way, Mr. Gold."

"Oh, I'd love to," he says, having finished calculating where to place the chair so handing over the baby will be as smooth an affair as possible. There are still a few minutes until the nurse has to come back to check on the patients. As he retrieves the plastic chair propped against the wall, he adds conversely, "And you just gave birth to my grandson, dearie. Call me Aaron."

The girl wrinkles her nose. "Only if you never call me that again. I'm Emma."

Gold laughs. It has been years since someone has called him out for his penchant to address people by that nickname. Perhaps she and Belle will be able to bond over that, beside the raising of small boys. "Emma," he repeats, giving her a nod of acknowledgement. "What a lovely name."

Her smile is small, but she says nothing as she slowly arranges her hold on the baby. 

His cane hooked on the back of the chair, his arms extended to welcome his grandson for their first face-to-face meeting, Gold can't help a gasp when he sees the boy. "He looks just like Bae," he whispers, amazed at the resemblance.

The girl snorts. "Forgive me if I prefer to think he looks like you instead."

Gold winces, but nods. His son has a lot to answer for, if the private investigators ever track him down. "Of course. I'm sorry. Here we go," he says as the boy passes into his arms. Baby-blue eyes blink up at him, and the little nose scrunches into a tiny, round button. He settles quickly, though, relaxing into his grandfather's hold for the first time. Gold feels the sting of tears against his eyes, and laughs as he lets them run. Each feature is committed to memory, filed right next to those of his two sons. "He's beautiful."

"He really is," says the proud mother.

Gold suddenly looks up, wondering how he could have forgotten to ask. "What's his name?"

Her lips tighten. "I don't know. Not yet."

Gold looks down at the boy, figuring that his stance on the proper naming of those that are loved will not be welcome at the moment. "Okay. But let us know when you figure it out?"

The girl nods. "You'll be the first to know."

 

The End  
08/02/17

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback is great! Comments are love!


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